Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers extraordinarily high frame rates in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a title that is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The measured data shows that the scaling from 1080p to 4K is dramatic, but the absolute performance floor remains well above what any competitive player would need. The data indicates that while the RTX 4060 is a capable GPU, this combination is constrained by the processor’s six-core, six-thread architecture in several key scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is substantial across all settings, revealing how the workload shifts from the CPU to the GPU as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 649.5 at 1080p to 266.7 at 4K, a reduction of approximately 58.9%. This steep decline indicates that at 1080p, the i5-9400 is the limiting factor, as the RTX 4060 has ample headroom to render frames quickly but is held back by the processor’s ability to feed the game logic and draw calls.

Moving to High settings, the scaling is similar: 477.9 FPS at 1080p drops to 330.7 FPS at 1440p, then further to 193.2 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is about 59.6%, mirroring the Low setting trend. This consistency suggests that the GPU begins to take over as the bottleneck at higher resolutions, but the CPU still exerts influence at 1080p. At Ultra settings, the 4K result of 164.9 FPS is the lowest measured in the entire dataset, yet it remains far above the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth for most titles.

The medium setting at 4K produces 223.2 FPS, which is significantly lower than the 552.7 FPS seen at 1080p. The data shows that the scaling factor between 1080p and 4K is roughly 2.5x for all settings, meaning the RTX 4060’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the shader workload at 4K taxes the GPU more heavily. For a game like CS:GO, where competitive play often prioritizes maximum frame rates over visual fidelity, the 1080p results are the most relevant, and the combo’s performance there is exceptional.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 915th out of 1605 tested combos in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places it in the 57th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning a significant portion of other combos deliver higher frame rates in this specific title. The rank is likely pulled down by the processor, which has a percentile rank of 50 against all CPUs in synthetic benchmarks, whereas the GPU ranks in the 66th percentile against all GPUs.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, both of which have average scores within 0.2% of the i5-9400. The Intel Xeon E-2134 is 0.4% ahead, while the Intel Core i7-8809G is 0.6% behind. These small deltas indicate that the i5-9400 is firmly in the mid-range tier for processing power, and its six threads limit its ability to keep up with higher-end CPUs in frame-time consistency during fast-paced action scenes.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4060’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which is 0.6% faster on average, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, which is 0.7% faster. The Intel Arc B580 is 0.7% slower, and the AMD Radeon 760M is 0.8% slower. These close margins suggest that the GPU is not the primary reason for the combo’s mid-pack ranking; rather, the CPU’s 6-core, 6-thread configuration and 9 MB of L3 cache likely bottleneck the RTX 4060 in CS:GO’s CPU-intensive engine, preventing the combo from reaching higher percentile positions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s boost clock is 2460 MHz, with a base clock of 1830 MHz, and it contains 3072 shading units alongside 96 texture mapping units and 48 ROPs. For a game like CS:GO, which is notoriously lightweight on GPU resources, these specifications are more than adequate; the data confirms this, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS never drops below 164.9.

The GPU’s role in this combo becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 649.5 FPS is likely near the CPU’s maximum output, as the RTX 4060 could theoretically handle more frames. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is more engaged, but the 164.9 FPS result still indicates that the card is nowhere near its limits. The RTX 4060’s 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate ensure that even with Anti-Aliasing and other effects enabled, the card can maintain high throughput.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is not a limiting factor in CS:GO, as the game’s texture and geometry requirements are modest. The measured data shows no signs of memory-related stuttering or frame drops, even at 4K with High settings. The GPU’s memory clock of 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) and 96 tensor cores are largely unused in this title, but they contribute to the card’s overall versatility for other games. For CS:GO, the RTX 4060 acts as a high-refresh-rate enabler, but the CPU remains the gatekeeper.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 649.5 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. However, the jump to Medium only reduces the average to 552.7 FPS, a drop of 14.9%, while presumably offering better visual fidelity. High settings at 1080p yield 477.9 FPS, which is still far above any competitive threshold.

For players with 1440p monitors, the Medium preset at 380.7 FPS is the sweet spot, as it maintains a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end displays (typically 240 Hz or 360 Hz) while providing improved textures and shadows over Low. The High preset at 1440p drops to 330.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 281.6 FPS, both of which are still playable but offer diminishing returns for the visual cost. At 4K, the Medium preset at 223.2 FPS is the recommended choice, as it keeps the frame rate above 200 FPS while avoiding the steep performance hit of Ultra (164.9 FPS).

The data suggests that the Ultra preset is unnecessarily demanding for CS:GO, as the visual improvements over High are minimal in a fast-paced competitive shooter. The Low preset, while providing the highest frame rates, sacrifices visibility in some maps due to reduced shadow quality. Therefore, the Medium preset is the data-backed recommendation for this combo across all resolutions, as it offers a significant FPS buffer over High and Ultra while maintaining acceptable visual clarity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low produces 649.5 FPS, Medium produces 552.7 FPS, High produces 477.9 FPS, and Ultra produces 403.5 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 246.0 FPS, indicating that the RTX 4060 has enough headroom to absorb the additional load from higher settings without collapsing.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 446.8 FPS for Low, 380.7 FPS for Medium, 330.7 FPS for High, and 281.6 FPS for Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 31.2% for Low to 30.2% for Ultra, showing a consistent GPU-bound scaling pattern. The 1440p results still exceed the typical 240 Hz refresh rate for all presets, making this resolution viable for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 266.7 FPS for Low, 223.2 FPS for Medium, 193.2 FPS for High, and 164.9 FPS for Ultra. The 4K results are the first resolution where the Low preset falls below 300 FPS, and the Ultra preset dips below 200 FPS. However, even the lowest measured value (164.9 FPS) is more than double the standard 60 FPS target, meaning this combo can drive 4K displays effectively in CS:GO, albeit with reduced headroom for future updates or more demanding maps.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in CS:GO?

A: The highest measured average is 649.5 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the peak performance point for this combination.

Q: How does the CPU rank against its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, and 0.4% higher than the Intel Xeon E-2134. It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 a bottleneck at 1080p in this game?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 649.5 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited. The RTX 4060’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, is only 0.6% faster on average, indicating the GPU has ample performance for CS:GO at this resolution.

Q: What is the lowest measured FPS for this combo?

A: The lowest average is 164.9 FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is still a very playable frame rate for most displays.

Q: How does the combo rank overall in this game?

A: The combo ranks 915th out of 1605 tested combinations, placing it in the 57th percentile. This suggests that while it performs well in absolute terms, many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher frame rates in CS:GO.

Q: Which setting preset offers the best balance at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 380.7 FPS, which is the most balanced option. It provides a significant FPS advantage over High (330.7 FPS) and Ultra (281.6 FPS) while likely offering better visual quality than Low (446.8 FPS).